FC Barcelona: Club misses Julián Araujo's signing by 18 seconds

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It is not yet clear where Julián Araujo will play next

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Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

These 18 seconds could still be expensive for FC Barcelona: on the last day of the transfer period, the Catalans wanted to sign Julián Araujo from the MLS club Los Angeles Galaxy.

The 21-year-old full-back was set to replace Héctor Bellerín, who had been transferred to Sporting.

According to information from the Spanish sports newspaper »AS«, Barça came to an agreement with the player and his club.

And yet the change did not materialize.

"We couldn't register him," Barcelona sporting director Mateu Alemany said ahead of Barça's 2-1 win at Real Betis Sevilla on Wednesday night.

The reason was a "system error," said Alemany.

"We'll see what Fifa says about it."

Alemany says he sees Araujo as a Barça player.

According to "Mundo Deportivo", at least the MLS has agreed to the change.

There is still no reaction from the World Football Association.

The case is reminiscent of the Choupo-Moting fast change

Araujo has played 98 MLS games in his career to date, in which he has provided 14 goals and scored once himself.

He has US and Mexican citizenship and would probably be a prospect at Barcelona.

Things are going according to plan for the Catalans even without Araujo.

The victory in Seville, in which Robert Lewandowski also scored, was the 14th consecutive competitive game without defeat.

Barça are already eight points clear of pursuers Real Madrid in one game more in the league.

The little posse around Araujo brings back memories of the failed transfer of today's Bayern attacker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting from HSV to 1. FC Köln in 2011. Problems with the fax machine prevented the transfer from happening at the time.

The German Football League did not give way either and insisted: »The deadlines set in the league statutes are binding for all clubs and serve to ensure the proper execution of the game and to protect the integrity of the competition«.

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